Offaly Bealtaine Festival 2012 is underway
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Belmont Mill Museum Room provided an atmospheric setting for the launch of the 2012 Offaly Bealtaine Festival Programme on Thursday April 26th last. This is the 9th year of the festival in Offaly and the popular festival features another packed programme of events across Offaly featuring concerts, social evenings, talks, drama, exhibitions and more. The festival is about celebrating creativity as we age and invites us, as we age, to get involved with arts and cultural activity. It gives us the chance to reignite the flame of creativity and unlock hidden talents through everything from music, art, theatre, singing craft and literature.
The launch featured a presentation to Offaly County Council by Belmont High Street Active Retirement Assoc of their collaborative work the Tree of Life which was created by the group with artist Caroline Conway during a previous Bealtaine Festival. Ms. Kitty Galvin made the presentation to Cathaoirleach Danny Owens as a thank you to the Council for its support of the Bealtaine Festival over the years. Cllr. Owens said, “we really appreciate this gesture, it is something that will be treasured for many years and it will be on display in the Aras during Bealtaine 2012 and then in Ferbane Library from then on.”
There are events across the libraries from talks on photography, exhibitions and a poetry performance by Patrick Carton (Thurs 17th of May in Tullamore and Clara); there are concerts in Birr Theatre (Liam Lawton on May 8th. Ivan Illic on May 18th) and Charleville Castle (Music from Opera and Musicals May 5th) and for something more informal there are Singing Circle meetings on Monday evenings across the county.
The Anam Beo annual exhibition will open on May 10th in Aras an Chontae, and there are also displays in Ferbane Library, Ballycumber Community Centre and Tullamore Library. Tullamore Amateur Dramatic Soc will perfrom one act plays in Edenderry Community Cabin (Sat 19th at 7.30pm) and Clara Family Resource centre on May 14th at 7.30pm. This is just a taste of what is on, much of which is free, for a full programme of events a programme can be picked up in your local library, or by calling the Arts Office on 057 9357400. The programme can also be downloaded from www.offaly.ie/arts